Reminiscent of both Spike Lee's Inside Man and the short-lived TV series The Nine, this claustrophobic caper flick deliberately shoots for “dense” but unfortunately just winds up “confusing.” Andrews Jenkins' How to Rob a Bank begins with bystander Jinx (Nick Stahl) and cyber-thief Jessica (Erika Christensen) locked in a bank vault. Both want to escape with the loot, but they will need to deal with fellow thieves holding hostages in the bank lobby, police gathered outside, and the criminal mastermind (David Carradine) who engineered the robbery. Stahl is relatively convincing as a disgruntled slacker, and Christensen seems to relish her role as a teasing bad girl, but the plot's cramped setting isn't concealed by a plethora of flashy camera angles, quick cuts, and split-screen work (and there are way too many shots of people talking to each other on cell phones), while the poorly staged action climax leaves viewers feeling robbed. Not a necessary purchase. (E. Hulse)
How to Rob a Bank
Genius, 81 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95 Volume 23, Issue 6
How to Rob a Bank
Star Ratings
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